


The Power that Surges Within

by OstrichQueen



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Elemental wizardry AU, Mavin, RageHappy, michael POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-17
Updated: 2014-05-13
Packaged: 2017-12-26 20:48:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/970139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OstrichQueen/pseuds/OstrichQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wizards have always practiced magic with the four elements, even if the non-wizards don't know about it. Schools have been set up to teach young warlocks and witches about using magic and the element they are born with. Michael Jones is one of the student's and expects nothing but a normal school experience, just with more sorcery. When you gets to the school, however, he finds out he is different. But he's not the only one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic I've ever written so constructive criticism would be great! (remember to be CONSTRUCTIVE though)

For thousands of years humans believed the world was composed only of four main elements, fire, water, earth, and air. Later of course they discovered that the planet was much more complicated and moved on with how they believed, but not wizards. No, we wizards still hold onto those elements of the world. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not complete morons, there are obviously tons of elements, gold and copper and shit, but wizards still like to classify everything the planet has to offer into those four categories. So much in fact that they decided to make a school completely revolving around teaching young sorcerers how to use magic with the elements properly so they don’t fuck up the entire planet.

I get up, still groggy from my summer schedule, and look in the mirror. Auburn curls surround my freckled face and I push them away while attempting to rub sleep from my eyes. I place my hands on the bathroom counter as thousands of thoughts, questions, and doubts travel through my mind like a busy intersection. This is it, my first day, my first year of four, and I still can’t believe I’m going to Achievement Academy. Will I be able to pass? Will the teachers like me? Hate me? What about the other kids?

“Michael? Are you almost ready? Being late is not good for your first day. We still have to drive another half hour before we reach the school.”

The voice of my mother temporarily snaps me out of my worried trance. Quickly I finish my business and get dressed.

 

*

The drive seemed to take forever, yet no time at all. My parents and I had to drive from New Jersey and I’m certain I wasn’t the only one with a long trip. Students come from all over the world. The school itself is all the way in Texas, completely hidden from the human eye. I honestly don’t know how though, it’s a huge fucking castle.

The car stops in front of the gigantic double doors marking the entrance. I stand in awe, looking at how beautiful it is. A comforting hand is placed on my shoulder and my mom turns me towards her, tears in her eyes and a smile spreading from ear to ear.

“I’m so proud of you. You’ve grown up to be such a handsome and caring young man, even with that temper of yours.”

“All first year students make your way inside and go to the main hall.”

I turn to face the unfamiliar voice and see that a tall man with short hair and a little bit of stubble, Burnie Burns the principal according to the school guide, was ushering the future students inside. I turned back to my parents, still full of fear. They gazed at me with reassuring eyes.

“Don’t worry son, you’ll be fine.” My father gave me a large clap on the back before wrapping his arms around me in a powerful embrace. “I’ve waited for this moment your entire life and I still can’t believe it. You’ve grown so fast and I can’t even put into words how much pride you have brought me. Good luck.”

“I guess this is goodbye.” My mother pulled me in for a hug so tight it threatened my breathing. “We will go drop off your bags and they will put them in your dorm for you. Be a good boy, keep your head up, make lots of friends and don’t get into too much trouble. I love you.”

I smiled one last time at them before turning away. Taking a deep breath I took my first steps towards the academy, my new life.

 

*

Beyond the doors is a humongous hallway, with walls made of stone and floors of sleek wooden planks. Attached to the wall is a sheet of paper with directions on how to get to the main hall. Keep walking until the fifth door on the left. Following the instructions given, I find myself in room filled wall to wall with desks, each desk with a small booklet and pencil on it. Sitting myself down, I start to read the paper.

**Welcome to Achievement Academy. This will be your first test of the year.**

What the fuck? I already have a god damn test and school hasn’t even started yet!

**School officials must determine what element best corresponds with you. Your results will determine your classes for your next four years. Marks from this test will not be put on any sort of report card. The exam will commence at exactly 8:05 am.**

A small sigh of relief escapes my mouth. I check my watch. 7:57. Trying to get a sneak peak, I file through the pages, but to my surprise they are all blank. How is this test even going to work? For the following six minutes I learn to amuse myself with my hands, feet, pencil, and basically whatever is readily available. I watch as all the other first years students pile in, filling all empty desks. At 8:03 the same man I saw at the front of the school goes to the front of the room. He clears his throat and all the chattering instantly stops.

“Welcome new students! As you may have seen from the booklet in front of you, this will be a test to categorize you into the appropriate element classes. There is nothing to worry about; nothing in this test will be held against you. With that said, welcome once more to Achievement Academy! You may now begin.”

I look down at my test and flip to the first page. Instead of blank pages, I’m greeted by 15 fill in the blank questions. Guess they didn’t want anybody getting a head start. Looking at the questions, I start to question the test more and more. My expectation was being asked my favourite hobbies and what I found most interesting out of all the elements, certainly not what my favourite color was and the name of my first pet. Whatever. I filed in all 60 of the answers, folded my test back up and waited.

Not much later a teacher with a rather fluffy looking red beard came by, gave me a nod, and picked up my test taking it back to the front.

I waited (there seemed to be a lot of that going on) as my exam was being marked. I watched as other kids got their results and moved to different rooms labeled with each element. Time keeps going and the crowd starts to thin. Growing anxious, I start biting my nails. The teacher who had taken my test was also marking it, going to other teachers and pointing things out on my paper. Oh god, what did I do wrong now?

After what seemed like an eternity, the man with the beard gave the exam one final look over and started to walk back to me. The hall was almost empty by this point.

“Michael Jones?” Slightly intimidated by the deep voice I look up.

“Yes?”

“You’re going to have to come with me.”

Leg’s shaking; I stand next to the man. He starts to walk out of the main hall, into the hallway, me following close behind with my head down. I bring up my wrist and check the time on my watch. 10:07. Great. I’ve been at this school for 2 hours and I’ve already fucked myself over.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the first real signs of mavin.

My feet can’t help but drag as I walk. I’m probably going to be kicked out for answering some question in a really twisted way. Question 22 had some sarcastic flare thrown into it. God damn, I need to learn to stop being a smart ass.

The teacher I’m walking with, Mr Pattillo I learn from his nametag, leads me down twists and turns and at this point I’m thoroughly convinced he is taking me a dungeon or something on the other side of the school. Finally we reach a room and stop. I am half right. Looking through the window I can see the field that faces the back portion of the school and realize just how far of a walk we went on.

There were many things I was expecting when the door was opening, but what I actually saw was not one of them. I was prepared for torture chambers, body parts, and weird chemicals. Instead there was a classroom. Plain and simple as that. The teacher gestured for me to enter, so with unsure steps, I did. I looked around to see I wasn’t the only one. I mean, I was one of few. A skinny kid with dark brown hair and glasses was sitting in the top right corner of the room. Another bulker looking stud with light brown hair was sitting in the middle of the desks. Hmm, he looked a bit older. Then last but not least there was a skinny light blondish brown haired-

“Hello!”

I took a sharp breath as my thoughts were interrupted by said skinny boy and my god; I could almost feel my pupils dilate and I could defiantly feel my cheeks and ears start to burn. Wait, what? Last time I checked I was straight, yet I couldn’t help but be turned onto this guy. I could have sworn I saw his pupils dilate too, but it was probably my mind playing tricks on me. Why would a guy like him even consider a guy like me? Wait, no, stop, you like girls Michael. He was right in my face, however, and I took the opportunity to study him. He really was extremely attractive, even more so close up. He had stunning blue eyes, hair that stuck up in every direction but yet was still perfect, and to top it off (as if he wasn’t amazing enough already), a spectacular British accent.

“I’m Gavin.”

“Gavin,” I say testing the name out on my lips. “I’m Michael.”

“Mi-cool,” he repeated, his accent altering the sound. “Pleased to meet you. That is Ray over there,” Gavin pointed to the boy pushing up his glasses, “and that is Ryan.” Gavin gestured to the only other person in the class. I give them both a quick nod and awkward smile.

“Sooo,” Gavin says leaning up against the desk nearest to him, “do you have any bloody clue as to why we are here? I saw all the other kids going into the element rooms, and my test took AGES to grade. Then they came back to me and dragged me here.”

This sparked my attention. “Yeah, the exact same thing happened to me. I thought I was knee deep in shit for putting a bullshit answer on my test or something.”

Ray and Ryan had gotten up and moved over to us, obviously interested. “It happened to you guys too?” Ryan questioned.

“Yeah,” Ray interjected. “I finished mine right away and then they just pulled me out. Sort of like my sex life.”

For a split second we all looked at each other before we started to hysterically laugh. Just as it started to die down a rather scruffy looking man with short, dark hair, a small amount of stubble and lazy looking eyes walks in, along with the teacher who had marked my test.

“Hey. My name is Mr Ramsey, but I’d prefer if you just called me Geoff, that teacher stuff makes me uncomfortable. I’m your vice principal and this over here is Jack, one of our teachers. Don’t be off put by his jelly rolls though, he is actually quite nice.”

Jack gave him a glare, but it was the kind that showed a strong friendship.

“Anyways, I’m sure you’re all wondering why the hell you’re here. Don’t worry you didn’t fuck up, can I say that? Is it alright if I swear in front of you guys? Whatever, I’m gonna do it anyway. Really though, you guys did fine. In fact, you did a little too well. That’s why you’re here. Normally kids take the test, get it graded, find out what there element is and move on, but you guys, you’re special. And I don’t mean ‘idiot’ special. For some reason each and every one of you has shown that you are able to control more than one element.”

I look over at the other 3 guys sitting next to me, and they look in just as much shock as me. I think we all expected to be told we were morons and to just leave, not that we were better than we had bargained for.

“I don’t know why it happened though. This is something that is extremely rare. Normally we get one kid who can do that every 15-20 years or so, yet we have all four of you, all in the same year. But this is where Jack and I come in, because to learn what you have to you need separate teachers who can show you everything all at once.” A small smirk spreads across Geoff’s face. “That’s why we’re teaching you. Who do you think those ‘one kids’ were?”

Jack walked up right next to Geoff and started to talk. “This also makes dorm arrangements easy. Four students are in one dorm, so you will be roommates. You better hope you all get along; if you don’t it’ll be a painful four years.”

I look over at the others sitting next to me again. I can defiantly see myself getting along with these guys. My eyes scan over Gavin and I feel myself start to blush again. Gavin and I will be sharing a room and all of our classes. Who knows what will happen. My mind starts to wander until Geoff’s voice snaps me back to the real world.

“So you guys are probably wondering what your elements are. Ray, you have water and earth. Michael, fire and earth. Gavin, air and water. Ryan, you are showing mainly air and fire, but also small traces of earth. Now before we move on there are a couple of rules. No girls are allowed in your dorm and magic cannot be used to harm others, no matter how tempting. You can use it outside of class but for god’s sake be aware of your common sense. Okay, you got it? Everyone good? Good. Congratulations, you are now officially students at Achievement Academy! You’re dorm rooms are on the third floor with all the others. Your room is number 117. All of your crap should be in there along with some stuff from the school like information booklets and shit. Your timetables will also be there but because it’s only us teaching you it won’t be complicated. I’ll see you all in class tomorrow then.”

Geoff and Jack turn around and leave on side of the room as Ray, Ryan, Gavin and I get up and leave the other. As we walk we start to realize just how much alike we are. Before coming here we all played video games. We discussed games, consoles, and characters that we all liked. As we talked I learned more about each of them. Ray was really good at a lot of things, especially video games, Ryan was extremely smart and sometimes a little insane, and Gavin, well Gavin liked to squeal a lot. I could tell that no matter how cute he was, Gavin was going to get under my skin this year. He reacted loudly to the smallest tickle or poke, and always demanded attention.

We kept talking, laughing more and more, connecting almost instantly. We reached the dorm room and looked at each other. I have known them for only a few hours, and I could already tell they would be my best friends for all four years. Smiles painted our faces as the door clicked open and we all stepped inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guys get set up in their new room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took such a long time to come out, and sorry again that its so short.

Slightly creaking, the door swings completely open, and we are greeted by nothing but a dull room. I guess the excitement of the day so far really built up our hopes for something more extravagant. The dorm was pretty big though. Enough room to fit two bunk beds in either corners of the room, a mini fridge, four desks, and two bookshelves. The walls were painted a simple cream colour, and in-between the beds, there was a giant window looking out into the forest that wrapped around the school. Right under it all our bags were piled on top of each others.

Sauntering into the room Ray’s eyes widened. “Oh sweet, bunk beds! Dibs!”

He dashed past me straight to the bed on the right side of the room, placed his foot onto the second spoke of the ladder and pushed up, arms grabbing the bars around the top bunk, and successfully launched himself onto the bed. He sat cross legged and smiled down at us.

“I want a top bunk too,” Gavin wailed.

Not a second later, I felt the small boy push past me and rush to the left side of the room.  He jumped up, obviously trying to imitate what Ray had done, but wasn’t as successful. He had tried going to the third spoke instead and of course, missed. Realizing his mistake, he attempted to get to the lower spoke with his other foot but this caused him to lose his balance and start to fall. Immediately, my instinct kicked in. I ran over to where he would have normally hit the ground, bent my knees, outstretched my arms, and braced for impact.

Even though Gavin weighed approximately 8 pounds, we still came crashing to the ground when his weight was thrown onto mine. I lay on the floor dazed for a while before looking up at Ray and Ryan and then Gavin sprawled across me.

“Gayyyy,”

Ray’s response got us all to start laughing, and also got me to start blushing again. Gavin crawled off me and bounced up onto his feet as if nothing happend.

“Thanks Michael! You bloody well saved me from a nasty fall there. I’m glad I’ll always have my boy protecting me.”

My stomach couldn’t help but flutter from the new nickname and a grin smothered my face. “No problem. How about this time you get up like a normal human being though, without nearly killing yourself, fuck face.”

“Will do,”

“I guess I’ll take the bed under Ray,” Ryan interjected, sitting himself down.

Ray beamed. “Its official, R and R connection.”

Gavin smiled down at me from the top bunk. “Looks like it’s you and me Michael. Team Nice Dynamite?”

A smile similar to the one on Gavin’s face stretched across mine. “Team Nice Dynamite.”

 

*

 

In a couple of hours the four of us were able to accomplish setting our room up. The walls were lined with posters from various movies and video games, each desk had been claimed by one of us with our individual laptops and Ray and I had both brought our gaming consoles which we set up. Gavin and Ryan said their parents would be sending them theirs later. We stored all our games on the bookshelves (fuck literature) and started to play a few of them. I learned that Ryan, Ray, and I are all pretty good, but Gavin was almost always fucking terrible. At least watching him play was funny as hell.

After around three hours we called it a night. The talking and joking around, however, didn’t stop for another hour after climbing into bed. All the other guys had fallen asleep by then but I still lay there staring blankly into the frame above me knowing I would soon join them. Today was amazing. I found out that I’m like some sort of super kid. Not to mention that there is three others who are also possibly the coolest people ever.

I turn onto my side. The corners of my mouth lift up and my eyes start to drift close with exhaustion. Today was amazing, and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try not to take to long with writing the next chapter, and hopefully it will be a longer one too!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is almost pure mavin love. Hope you enjoy!

Having only been one month into school I can already say it’s been amazing. Classes start later than they did at my normal school back home. The teachers choose when class starts to fit their schedule, and decide how long they last. Lucky for us, Geoff and Jack didn’t like to be up to early so the work didn’t start until 10:00, and then each class was only about four hours, all of which were spectacular, not boring and redundant. Speaking of Geoff and Jack, they are fucking awesome. It’s almost as if they’re just older versions of us. We all make each other laugh, and if you get Geoff laughing everybody joins in, it’s contagious and probably cures god damn cancer. Ryan, Ray, Gavin, and I had also started going to the school’s courtyard and making even more friends. Quite a lot actually, Miles, Kerry, Barbara, Chris, Monty, Jordan, Lindsay, and a bunch of others. There was even an older kid, Joel who was with us. He and Ray seemed to take a liking to each other quickly.

The best part of this month, however, was undoubtedly Gavin. In almost no time a strong friendship was formed between us, and don’t get me wrong, I’m still close to Ray and Ryan and everybody else, but with Gavin it was... different. I wasn’t wrong, he is annoying as shit, and there has been more than one occasion that I’ve wrestled him to the ground out of pure frustration, but no matter what we’re always giggling by the end.

It was Friday and just Gav and I were going back to the dorm after class. Ray was hanging with Joel and Ryan said he wanted to get some practice on his earth abilities. Gavin’s parents had sent him his Xbox about a week ago and we headed straight for them once in the comfort of the dorm. We loaded up GTA V and decided to just have a fist fight with our characters. As expected, after many screams from Gavin, his screen turned grey and “WASTED” showed in red font.

He turned to me with an exaggerated frown on his face. “No fair.  Bet I could take you in a real fight.”

“Are you shitting me? You really think that,” I raised my eyebrows. “You HONESTLY think you could beat me? Gavin you’re a stick and we’ve wrestled a bunch already, and in case you haven’t noticed you have yet to win.”

“Yeah but Michael, I’ve been working out.” He pulls back the sleeve of his shirt and flexes, coming up with very little.

“Oh wow, impressive,” I mock.

He turns back to his screen, “Ah whatever,”

With him being distracted, I see it as an opportunity and pounce. He falls out of his chair and we are quickly rolling around on the ground, trying carefully not to hit anything.

“AAHHHHHH MICOOL STOP IT,”

I can’t stop from laughing at the small British boy’s obvious trouble. I’ve just about got him pinned, I’m on my knees and each one is placed on either side of Gavin, all I need to do is push them together and into his torso, but before I can he’s slipped out and away from me. I turn my head hoping to find him again and before I know it, I’m being shoved to the ground. Gavin had thrown all of his weight at me and managed to flip me to my back, and was now sitting triumphantly on my stomach. 

“Ha ha, I told you I could beat you!” Gavin bragged.

“Yeah I guess you did, you slippery little bastard,”

We were both still chuckling. Only a second later I realized how comfortable I was. Gavin was sitting on me, beautiful eyes gazing down, and somehow it all felt right. All of sudden, I just wanted to take that stunning face of his in my hands and kiss him with everything I had. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind, or at least I would have, but apparently Gavin had the same idea.

 Before I knew it I was being smothered by a pair of incredibly soft lips, not really sure what was going on, but definitely not complaining. It took my mind a few seconds to process everything, and once it did, there was no hesitation to kiss back. I was still lying down, so placing my hands behind me I slowly started to push myself up into a sitting position so I could have better control. From there I grabbed Gavin and pulled him into my lap, all the while not breaking the kiss. I had one hand on his back, another in his hair, his hands cupping my cheeks. I leaned into him, trying to get closer to what I had wanted for so long, but hadn’t realized I wanted until now.

So far it had only been closed mouth, and I needed more. Running my tongue along his bottom lip, I prayed for access into the rest of his mouth, craving more contact, and was not disappointed. His willingly opened it and we began to explore each other even further. My heart pumped faster and faster, pushing the intensity through my veins.

It was perfect. We sat there, not a care in the world, when the door opened. We broke apart to see Ray standing above us, gaping.

I look at Gavin and can’t help but stare at the flustered figure. He was truly gorgeous. Lips swollen from kissing, hair more messy than usual, and face as red as a tomato, it was an amazing sight. He quickly scuttled out of my lap, took his bag, and slung it over his shoulder.

“I’ve...Uh, um... I’ve got to... you know..Uh, go,” he stuttered, then sprinted out of the room.

I didn’t even want to look at Ray, I was way too embarrassed, but I knew that I would have to. I get up with my back to him. Might as well get it over with. Taking a deep breath in, I turn around to face my roommate, and stand there waiting for the ridicule.

“It’s about fucking time,”

I stare at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

He sighed and shook his head, a small smile sneaking onto his face. “I’m talking about you and Gavin. For the past month the both of you have been parading around acting like a couple! You’re always together; basically throwing yourselves at each other! Whenever we play video games you guys will sit in the corner whispering and giggling. Seriously, you guys might as well be wearing shirts that have arrows pointing to each other saying ‘boyfriend’. You’re both shit at hiding your emotions and everybody knows how you feel, EXCEPT for you two.”

I open my mouth wanting to respond, but don’t find words, so instead look down to my feet.

“It’s great man, I’m glad you guys like each other like that. My opinion doesn’t change about you. You’re still one of my best friends, Gav too.”

I let out a breath, one I didn’t know I was holding in. “Thanks man. It means a lot,”

“Ahh, don’t mention it, just don’t go searching through my underwear drawer. But you’ve probably reserved that for Gavin. Speaking of which, you might want to go find the idiot. He’ll end up thinking of you and not realize what’s in front of him until he’s falling down the fucking stairs.”

“Yeah, he can be a god damn idiot.” I smile at Ray. “Thanks again.” He gives me a nod and I make my way to the door and into the school hallway.

*

It took me nearly 30 minutes just to spot Gavin. Everybody I asked either hadn’t seen him or said that they didn’t have a clue where he was going. Lucky for me he was wearing his bright green sweater and I saw him while passing the window that looked out to the back of the school. There was a large field with a winding path leading into the forest. Gavin was already three quarters down the two mile path and was heading into the dense bush.

Knowing where to actually fucking go this time, I start jogging towards the doors. While going I don’t stop for anyone. That is until Geoff stands in my way. I don’t want to stop, I can’t stop, but he is the vice principal and I really don’t feel like getting fucking expelled.

“Where the fuck are you going in such a hurry?

“Uh nowhere really,” I shift my weight from foot to foot.

“Well that’s a giant vague lie, so why don’t you tell me where you’re actually going?”

“Alright, fine. Gavin and I were doing something and I think he might be ashamed about it or angry at me or something. I just need to find him and work things out. It’s really personal.”

“Fucking finally.”

I give him the same expression I gave Ray. “What?”

He rolled his eyes. “Let me guess, that personal ‘something’ you guys were doing was making out or touching butts, that kinda stuff. Now you’re afraid you scared him off by showing how you felt.”

I stared in disbelief “You KNEW.”

“Michael, dude, everybody fucking knew. It wasn’t exactly a secret between anybody but you two.”

“Well shit, why didn’t they just put it in the god damn school newspaper!”

“Alright, alright, no need to get all huffy. Nobody reads those things anyway. I’m happy for you. Now go and find your little boyfriend.”

I punched him lightly in the arm. “Shut up.”

Having lost about 5 minutes, I race to catch up to Gavin. He’s no longer in the field, probably still on the path in the forest. It’s getting darker and darker and once I’m in the woods there is barely enough light to see with. Every breath I take is filled by the crisp pine air, clearing my head. Now all that floats in my mind is Gavin. I start running harder. In just a few minutes I’m overjoyed to see the green sweater outlining a thin boy.

“Gavin!”

I’m only a couple of steps away from him. He stops in his tracks and turns to look at me. The look on his face is desperation and I feel as if somebody just punched me in the stomach. He looks so unhappy, and I can’t help but feel the same.

“I’m sorry Michael; I don’t know what came over me. I couldn’t help it. I really like you and I understand if you’re angry. All I ask is let me be alone for a little while, when I get back to the dorm you can yell at me. I’ll start acting normal again too. Things can go bac-”

I didn’t let him finish before I closed the gap between us and smashed our mouths together. I wrapped my arms around him and I felt him put his hands on my hips. After a couple of seconds I pulled my mouth away.

“You’re a fucking moron. Do you really think I’m angry? Why would I have kissed you back?” I could see his cheeks grow red, any I’m pretty damn sure it wasn’t just from the cold. “Don’t go back to normal, I like you much better this way.”

I pulled him in close to me again and we kept kissing. After about 5 minutes I started to feel the night chill up my back, and separated again.

“Do you still want to be alone?” I asked.

“What do you bloody well think, you dunce?”

I smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

“Come on lets go,” I unwrapped my arms from his torso and grabbed his hand. “It’s getting dark and cold, we should really head back.”

Gavin looked down at our hands and squeezed affectionately. “What do you think the guys are going to say when they see us?”

“Oh I don’t think we have to worry about that.”

“Why not?”

“They already know. Those observant little assholes noticed we liked each other before we did.”

“Really? And they’re okay with it?”

“Absolutely fine.”

“Well I guess that’s perfect then.”

“Yeah I guess so.”

Hands still intertwined, we walk down the path back to the school. This is going to be a great fucking year.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is sorta a explanation chapter that goes over a few things about the AU with a little bit more of Ryan...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took an entire month to come out, I've been extremely busy at school (we started physics) but I will try and update more often.

“What the fuck is this?” I stare at Ryan.

“Okay, I know it looks bad but just let me explain...”

“How the fuck can you explain this?” I point to the small hole in front of me with a cow stuck in it, glass covering the top. “Is this what you brought me out here for. Was this what you were “working on” a couple of weeks ago?”

“Look I was just digging a hole with what I have of my magic to practice manipulating the ground, and then left for class. When I came back this cow had jumped in. It’s not my fault, but I tried getting him out and wasn’t able to.”

“Well here, let me try. I’m still not great, but my magic in earth might just be strong enough to control life and let this poor animal free,” I rolled up my sleeves.

“Wait no!” Ryan reached out his hands to stop me.

I stare at him again, but this time a little more angry. “What the fuck are you doing Ryan? I’m trying to help!”

“I know, but I kinda want to keep him.”

“What?”

“Hey, he jumped into my hole, I didn’t put him there! I tried letting him out but he wouldn’t budge. I don’t see why Edgar can’t just stay.”

“You even named it!” I threw my hands up in the air. “You, Ryan, are turning into a sick fuck.” I turned on my heel and stormed out of the forest.

 

*

“What are you doing love?” Gavin calls to me.

I had my face stuffed in one of my earth books, reading. “I’m doing a little bit of studying. Did you know that Ryan has a cow trapped in a hole in the middle of the forest?”

“That’s a tad creepy,”

“I’ll say, he even named the fucking thing. I want to practice my earth skills to see if I can help him get out. The cow, that is. It’s gonna take a lot of work.” That was for sure. To be able to control any life with the earth element requires the highest level, and I’m barley done the first.

Each element has 3-4 different levels, kind of similar to the evolutions in Pokémon. Each one is progressively harder and harder to do and uses more magic at once, which can easily drain a new student of their powers for as long as weeks if the try.

The first level in earth in simply being able to move it around. If you can pick up a chunk of loose dirt and move it, well, congratulations because you’ve got the simplest part down. That level gets a bit more complicated when you try and move things like iron deep in the ground to the surface with barley altering the ground it has to pass through. The next level is creation. This means you can concentrate your energy and be able to make a sword or axe or something for nothing but the earth beneath and around you. Finally, the last level is life, which allows you to control other plants and animals. It doesn’t work on other wizards though.

 Air has four levels, the first one being able to move it, so basically creating and stopping wind. Next you learn to control the temperature. Being able to vary the amount of air in a certain space is the level after that. It is possible to create a vacuum but extremely difficult. A powerful wizard could only do about 1 or 2 cubed feet before the sheer power would kill them. The final level is having the ability to change the ratios of the elements in the air in an area. Gases like carbon can be added or taken away, which, depending on how you use it, can make for some very toxic air.

Being able to move water is the first level in water, next you learn to change the temperature, which also means changing the states. The better you get the faster you can heat or cool it and the more extreme the temperature change can get. Finally, when you become really powerful you can control water to be able to heal yourself and heal others. It’s very useful when in battle and you get a giant fucking gash on your body that could use fixing up.

Last but not least my personal favourite, fire. The first level in fire is the ability to determine the amount. This means if you have a small fire you can make it bigger and if you have a big fire you can make it smaller. Pretty fucking simple. After that you can learn to make fire appear, which is actually a lot more difficult than it sounds. Lastly, you learn how to control things more on the electric side, mainly lighting. It’s awesome watching people electrocute stuff and shit, and I’m sure it will be even more awesome do be able to do it myself.

I get up from my desk and grab my bag. “I’m going to take a break to get some food. Wanna come with?”

“Sure,” Gavin grabs his bag and stands next to me. “So what do you plan on doing about Ryan and this weird cow thing?”

“I have no clue, but I can tell you one thing, I’m going to get that fucker out that hole if it’s the last thing I do.”


	6. Chapter 6

Gavin started to squirm in my arms again. Lying together in my bed, the one above us made and unused since the start of our relationship, Gavin and I move around restlessly. That’s it, I can’t fucking take it. It’s nearly 3 am and the light on Ryan’s desk across the room is still as bright as it was 6 fucking hours ago when he started scribbling all over a notebook. Careful not to disturb Gavin too much, I sit up.

“Ryan, turn off that god damn light or I fucking swear that I will smash it out. With your face.”

“I can’t I have to keep working,”

“What are you even working on? I’ve seen you use, like, 5 pens on that stupid notebook alone and then tear out half the pages, but I’ve never actually seen what you’ve written in it. What’s so important that you choose it over sleep?”

Ryan’s entire body stiffened, but then quickly relaxed again.

“It’s nothing. Nothing you need to worry about anyway. Sorry I kept you and Gavin awake; I still need to work but I’ll just move to the library.

That’s not very reassuring. Oh well, at least maybe now we can get some shut eye.

“Thanks, but you really should sleep. This can’t be good for you.” I tried to show as much concern as I could muster in my sleepy state. He was still my friend after all.

“Yeah maybe, but I really have to work on this,” he got up with his notebook in hand and strolled to the door. “Don’t worry too much about me, I can handle myself,” and with that he walked out.

*

“Hey fuck face.” Ray turned in response to my obvious question starter, “Geoff invited us over to play video games at his house this weekend and asked me to tell you guys. Gavin and I can already come,”

“Yeah, you can count me in. You gonna ask Ryan?”

That was something I had asked myself. He had been acting really strange lately, never wanting to do anything with us anymore. We had turned into nothing but a piece of gum attached to the bottom of his fucking shoe.

“I don’t know.”

“Well as much as I like the guy, I wouldn’t do it. The other day I asked him if he wanted to go to a movie and he just looked at me and started talking about how he had more important things to do. But it was scary. He was angry and you could tell, but it wasn’t like your angry or anything; no yelling or swearing, just that creepy kinda mad look in his eyes. I guess it all worked out for the best though. Joel and I just ended up going, but I'll probably have to see it again. I missed some parts.”

That made me chuckle. “Yeah I'm pretty sure making out with your secret boyfriend in the middle of a movie will probably make you miss at least part of it.” Ray’s ears started to turn a furious shade of red. “It’s cool though buddy, don’t sweat it. You’re probably right about Ryan though. I’m sure he doesn’t want to come.”

*

Gavin, Ray and I were nothing but laughter coming back from Geoff’s house. Every time it would subside one of us would bring up another one of Geoff’s drunken shenanigans from the night and burst out again. Apparently Ryan had heard us because as we came through the doors of our room he was sitting there, arms crossed.

“So... Where were you guys?” He asked us this calmly, and I instantly understood what ray had meant by Ryan had a creepy essence to him. I cleared my throat and stepped forward. I was the one who was supposed to ask him, might as well take the blame. “We were...uh, at Geoff’s house. He invited us all over to play games and stuff. We - I figured you wouldn’t want to go, you never want to really do anything with us anymore, so I didn’t ask.”

He didn’t respond right away, just kept staring at me. I felt as if I was being evaluated, which was eerie as hell. Ray was right, this was a shitload scarier than if he were just yelling. This made me uneasy. I kept staring at him though, daring him to break eye contact when I saw something. It was so tiny I actually questioned at first if it was even something I saw or just my imagination, but it was unmistakable. A little glimmer of insanity had flashed through his eyes.

“It’s alright Michael,” he tilted his head ever so slightly, still silently judging me “just tell me next time.”

All that night no matter how hard I tried, no matter how close I held Gavin, I couldn’t get the picture of Ryan’s eyes out of my mind. That was it. I had to know what was in that notebook.


	7. Chapter 7

Hand in hand Gavin and I walk down the cracked street together towards the small collection of shops outside the campus of the school to get some lunch. The Texas sun is shining bright as ever over Gavin, illuminating his hair, and well, I can’t really help but stare. Gavin turns to me and catches my gaze then smiles

“Why are you staring at me ya doughnut?” he asks.

“Just thinking about how lucky I am to boyfriend with such a great face,”

“Pfft,” is his only reply.

“No seriously, I mean it. If it ever starts rain we could take cover under your nose, it would be the perfect protection.”

“Oh sod off,” he warns above my giggling.

With the hand that is holding Gavin’s I pull him closer and swing my other arm around in front of his torso until it reaches his waist, where it stays. In his brief moment of disorientation I draw him in for a kiss. I unwillingly pull us apart just a few seconds later. Other students are starting to stare.

“Are you sure you still want me to sod off?” I ask pulling away.

He answers by grinning at me, pulling our bodies closer, and then pushing his lips gently to mine. Once again I reluctantly pull away far earlier then I would have normally, but I don’t exactly like showing my most intimate moments out in public for everyone to watch. Gavin didn’t seem to agree with my logic, I realize after pulling away and seeing the frown on his face.

“C’mon,” I say taking away my arm from his waist while snaking the other around his side, “Let’s go get lunch, I’m starving.”

We walk to a cafe but Gavin is sulking a little the entire time. It doesn’t stop once we order our food. I watch Gavin push around the lettuce in the bowl in front of him, not taking a single bite.

“What’s the matter?” No response.

“Is it final exams? We still have a month before we have to take the first one, you’ll be fine.”

“It’s not that,” he responds, still not looking up from his salad, “Don’t worry about, it’s nothing,”

“Okay well that’s a big bag of bullshit. Why don’t you tell me what's actually wrong,” Still no response. “Gav, I’m your boyfriend and I care about you, a lot.” He looks up at me. His eyes are full of hurt; it makes my heart feel like it collapsing in on itself. Fuck, what did I do wrong?

 “If you care about me so much why aren’t you showing it as much as you used to?”

I looked blankly at him. What was he talking about? He must have seen my confusion because he went straight back to looking and pushing his salad around.

“Never mind, forget I brought it up,” he replies in a quiet tone.

“No, I will not forget. What are you talking about? When I have I stared showing less care to you?”

After throwing his fork in his bowl he looks at me. “What about today? Normally we would have stood there for forever, but instead it was just a quick kiss and done. This isn’t the first time either. You’ve done it on campus tons of times. It feels like you don’t want to be with me anymore.” He breaks eye contact, deciding the table is more interesting.

 My heart sinks, but lifts right after. I hate seeing Gavin upset but thank god it was just something as small as this.

“Gavin, I don’t do that because I don’t care. It’s just because I don’t exactly like sharing that sort of thing in public,” I explained and went back to eating.

“Oh I see, so you just don’t want to be seen with me or at least not as your boyfriend because that would be just TOO embarrassing!”

I choke on my burger. “No, no that's not it at all! What I meant to say wa-”

“I think I know exactly bloody well what you meant,” he stands from his chair and fishes his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans, grabbing a few dollars which he throws down on the table. Gavin is always willing to pay for his meal, no matter the circumstances. “But this is what I mean. It’s over.”

After watching Gavin storm out I look down at my lunch and realize my appetite left with him. I take out enough of my own money to pay for our meals and grab the extra that Gavin left. Leaving the store by myself I realize without out him to walk home with the sun is nowhere near as beautiful.

*

I really don’t want to deal with the idea of going back to the dorm room and Gavin being there, so I go for a walk. After an hour or so, though, my thoughts seemed to weigh too much on my mind so I go to the dorm. I am thankful to find the room abandoned. Sighing from mere mental exhaustion I pull my wallet from my pants and take out the money Gavin left at the restaurant. Putting it down on the desk, I slowly start to search for both sticky notes and a pen. I scribble on one of the notes in big messy letters. _I'M SORRY._ I stick it to the money and neatly place it on his bed.

I scan the room around me, and to be honest, it sucks. I wish Gavin was here with me. My mood sparks up a little though when I see Ryan’s notebook on his desk, completely unguarded. I practically leap onto the desk and file through the pages but immediately my breath gets caught in my throat. Each page is full of plans, plans to destroy the school, the forest, and even some of the students. Sheet upon sheet filled with horrific ideas, and just like watching something get run over, you want to look away, but you can’t. Each section of paper has something written or scratched out on it, every word carefully diagramed out. Flipping to the last pages, I see the most elaborate plans of the entire book, and they’re plans to kill Ray, Gavin, Jack, Geoff and me, the only difference is mine are the most gruesome.

I stare horrified before I hear a voice behind turning my blood cold.

“Well, well, well. Hello Michael.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry once again for the delay in chapters but I should get the next two up fairly quickly. After that I can't guarantee anything because I have tons of exams but ill try my best. Thank you so much for all the support you've given me so far it means a lot


	8. Chapter 8

Swallowing, I turn and look at Ryan. He has a creepy smile painted on his face and the same insane look is in his eyes as he did the day he found out we didn’t invite him to that stupid party, but this time it’s not going anywhere.

“I see you decided to read it after all,” the smile faded. “You think it would be nice if a guy could get some privacy.”

“What the fuck is this Ryan? Actually no, I’ll tell you what this is. This is fucked up, beyond belief.”

Ryan turned very cold, almost like stone. “I’ve been underestimated and mistreated my entire life. I thought it was about time for people to see my full potential.”

“I knew you were pushing the line of crazy with that fucking cow of yours, but this? Now I KNOW you’re insane,”

The calm, eerie smile returned to his face. “Not insane Michael, genius. Genius and willing to take a chance no one else will. Here’s the thing. This is something that's rare, but I see potential in you. You and I, we’re not that different. We could be great, together.”

This catches me off guard, but I pull myself back together, praying he didn’t notice. “You call yourself a genius, but you could never be more wrong. We are nothing alike. I could never be as fucked up as you,”

“That's a shame, we could have both been mad kings, but you seem to have made up your mind.”

“So that's it then? You’re just going to let me go?” Please say yes.

“Oh god no, I can’t have you going off and blabbing my plan to everybody now could I?”

“What will you do then? Kill me?” He chuckles at this.

“No, no. As you’ve seen already there’s a time and place for that, and it’s not here,”  taking his time he strolls over to me until we are only about a foot apart, then picks up a pencil from the desk and twirls it between his fingers. “I can change Gavin’s plans though.”

Every single one of my muscles tightens. “Don’t you fucking touch him.”

“Don’t worry; I won’t, as long as you don’t tell anybody about my plans.” I decide to agree, because really, what choice do I have, but before I can say anything Ryan keeps talking. “In fact, since you and Gavin had that little spat and its kinda fun to watch you suffer, you can’t patch things up with him either,”

My stomach turns to lead. “How the fuck did you know about that?”

Ryan shrugs his shoulders. “He needed a shoulder to cry on, and I was the only one there.” His smile widened.

“You asshole. Fine, fine I’ll keep up my end of this stupid fucking deal, just keep up yours.”

“Of course,” he turns around in the door frame and stops, his muscular back to me. “Goodnight,” is the last thing he says to me before leaving.

I glance over at the clock. 10:19. A little early to be going to bed, but I was beat. I change and slip under the sheets before falling into an uneasy sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I just got my exam schedule and my last exam is on the 23 of jan so don't expect any new chapters any time before that (sorry) but after that I have a bunch of time off while other grades write their exams so Ill get to writing then. Hope you've enjoyed the story thus far


	9. Chapter 9

The morning light makes my eyes hazy when I wake. I sit up and yawn in an attempt to adjust to being awake. I look over and see that Ray is gone (probably off with Joel), Ryan is playing a little mini game of catch with himself, throwing a small rubber ball up in the air and catching it, each time making a small _slap_ sound and a constant rhythm that is creepy as fuck, and Gavin is sitting at his desk; his head hung down and fiddling with something in his hands. Seeing him and knowing I can’t hold him tears a little chunk from my heart.

 

I swing my legs up off the bed and realize that Gavin must have been waiting for me because the moment he hears me he turns to look and quickly stands. My gaze meets his and I quickly transfer it to Ryan, who isn’t looking, then go back at Gavin. In his hands are the money and the sticky note I left on his bed from yesterday.

 

“Michael?”

 

I sigh. “Yeah Gav?”

 

“I’m sorry for what happened yesterday. You’re right, I’m just stressed out, and I acted like a child. Seeing this,” he gestures to the money, “made me realize that. So do you think maybe we could be okay again?”

 

The _slap_ being emitted from Ryan instantly stops. Both of them are waiting for my answer.

 

While giving my response, I make sure my eyes never reach Gavin’s. No matter what happens he is going to get hurt, but I’d much rather him hate me then him be dead. “I can’t forgive you Gavin. What you said yesterday made me realize that maybe we should break this off. If an argument that small causes us to split, what’s to say a big fight won’t do more harm. I think it’s best if we keep things the way they are right now. Separate.”

 

The familiar sounds of rubber hitting skin returns and I peak up to see Ryan smirking. While in this position I can’t stop my eyes from drawing to Gavin, but when I look at him I wish I were able to. His eyes are rimmed with water, his breathing has become ragged, and his mouth is slightly gaped. In simple, he looks in pain.

 

“Look, I’ m sorry Gavin. We had some great times bu-“

 

“No, no don’t worry about it Michael,” a small drop of water starts to run down his cheek, “I can understand. Who would want to go out with me any way, right?” he smiles weakly. “I guess I should, uh, go find Ray, or umm, something.”

 

Gavin runs out before I get to say anything else.

 

The door slams shut and I glare at Ryan. “I hope your fucking happy, asshole.”

He stops his game momentarily to look at me. “You and Gavin are in pain aren’t you? Of course I’m happy.” He turns away and the rhythm starts again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took me forever and i know i'm making excuses for myself but i just started the hardest class in my entire school and finished merlin which emotionally destroyed me and I needed time to recover (which speaking of when im done this fic i think im going to write a merlin fic to cope). Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter and if i can find the motivation there may be one out tomorrow!?!


	10. Chapter 10

The next few days that followed were the worst. Gavin has done nothing but sulk around everywhere he went instead of emitting happiness like he had at the begging of the year and all the time leading up to now.

Every time I see him my stomach sinks. The worst part of it is that he still talks to me. I know, I know, this should make me feel better, but it doesn’t because when he speaks, there is nothing behind it. No happiness, no sadness, no anger, nothing. When he’s around me he shuts off. Seeing that, realizing that words that were forced out of my mouth but were not mine made him feel that way, well, it fucking hurts. I want to be angry at him, be mad at him for not understanding that I'm just trying to keep him safe, just so I can feel something other than bitter resentment towards myself, but I can’t. I can understand that he would rather be emotionless than hurt, but he isn’t doing it for himself. I can see when he looks away how hurt he is. He only is doing what he is doing to protect me from my emotions. Stupid selfless Gavin. Unfortunately for him though, I’m not the only one to notice his mood.

“Okay today, since the school year is almost over, we will be starting your last project,” we all let out a weak, sarcastic cheer at Geoff’s announcement. “Yeah I know assholes, but the school board says it’s mandatory. And to try to get Mr. Grumpy pants over here in a better mood,” Geoff gestures towards Gavin, “you guys will get to do it in groups. I’m choosing them for you because if I don’t you idiots wont get to finish properly.”

I tense up. Fuck. Now I have no clue how I’m going to get paired up. Every option sucks ass. If I end up with Gavin it could get close to killing me having to see him the way he is even more than I have been, going with Ryan could lead to all sorts of disasters (most of which involve me getting angry at him and fucking everything up), and if I go with Ray it would leave Gavin and Ryan together. Who knows what thoughts and doubts Ryan could squirm into Gavin’s head? No matter what I lose, but I would at least like to choose what takes me out.

“OK so,” Geoff continues, “what you guys will be doing is a little more ambitious than what you’ve been doing so far but don’t worry about that I’ll just mark it easier. What you have to do is make or alter something new with all four of the elements. You’ll get higher marks if you make something.”

“But don’t feel as though you have to,” Jack interjects, teaching alongside Geoff as he had been since the first day, “obviously there is not a lot of options for creating something with a gust of wind, but do what you can.”

Geoff picks up his end of the lesson again. “Yeah. You can either make or change whatever the fuck you plan on doing and then show it to us, or you can do it right in front of us. I’ll give you a hint. The second one is better. Any questions?” He looks at us, as we stay silent. “Glad to see the enthusiasm. Umm ok, since you need all four elements this can only work one way. Ray and Ryan will be the first group,”

“WOO, R & R CONNECTION,” Ray interrupts along with a high 5 given to Ryan.

“Yeah, yeah. So that leaves you two together,” he says pointing to Gavin and me. Neither one of us says anything. Even though I know it will be the best option I still don't want to do this. But at least this way there is a much lower chance of Ryan getting in the way and hurting Gavin.

“Alright so you guys will probably have a lot of stuff to look at but since there is only, like what? Ten minutes left? You can just sort of talk about the project or about your plans to suck each others dicks after class, whatever, and we’ll go to the library next class.”

All four of us push our desks towards our partners. I eye out Ryan and can see that he is staring at me. I can practically hear his warning. ‘Don’t try anything funny or you and Gavin will be in some serious trouble.’ Shifting uncomfortably under Ryan’s gaze I turn to look at Gavin. He of course is not looking anywhere near me, probably just trying to get this project over with as soon as possible. I understand, but we have to start somewhere.

“So… is there anything you want to do, an-anything you had in mind?”

It only takes a couple more seconds of me looking at him to realize that he is not going to look back. I tear my eyes away from the honey hair that is spiked up in every possible way and instead look at the paper in front of me. I try to focus on the project, to be able to write words on the blank sheet in front of me. Briefly I consider writing Gavin a note telling him everything. Telling him that I'm sorry, that I miss him. That I want nothing more than to hold him and kiss him and watch stupid cute Disney movies with him and play stupid fucking video games with his dumb face. To tell him I'm sorry, but I have to keep doing this.

But I can’t. Ryan would get it some how and I just couldn’t risk that. So instead I keep glaring at my paper, feeling almost angry from the potential that it has, but no _fucking_ _way for me to use it._ Gavin’s voice brings me back to reality, which is probably one of the cheesiest things I’ve ever thought.

“I’m not sure yet, but at least we’ll have the night to think about it.”

“Yeah, if only sleep were a cure for stupidity, then maybe we could get something done in this class of morons.”

We are all pretty used to making fun of each other, a constant joke that never really goes away. Even though I know that, when I quickly glance up at Gavin and see the smallest hint of a smile on his face and I’m surprised, which is a feeling immediately over taken by joy. It’s nice to see Gavin smile. But just as quickly as it was there, it’s gone.

“Well I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens,”

I think about his words and how perfectly they fit into the war that I'm silently fighting with Ryan and myself. “Yeah, I guess so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter! Also I know I put it down for being done in 12 chapters but there is a very high possibility that I may change it to 13. I'm just going to have to wait and see how the writing works out


	11. Chapter 11

Our work time to finish the project is going down slowly, but Gavin and I have got most of it done. We’ve figured out what we both want to do regarding our elements. I plan on making a sword right in front of Geoff and Jack, which won’t be easy but I’m practicing and have gotten pretty good. I’ve been able to make iron but I’m working on diamond. Gavin has set up a little system where he boils water and it powers a small generator, which in turn turns on a light bulb.

For the last two elements, since its difficult to create something with fire or air, we decided it would be best if worked together. That’s why we’re in the library even long after class is over with a small, currently empty cylinder sitting in front of us. In retrospect we probably should not be doing this in the library, but you know, shut up. Everybody makes a bad decision sometimes.

Gavin is going to change the air inside the small tube to pure oxygen and I will start a small fire inside to ignite it. We haven’t done them together yet, but separately we know they work. We know that it will make the fire stronger than just normal air, but we don’t know to what extent. Probably not to different.

“Ready” I ask him. My magic is pretty easy, but what Gavin has to do is a lot harder.

He looks briefly at me then back at the cylinder, concentrating. “Yeah, I think so.”

He lifts his hands and surrounds them around the shape in front of us without touching it. His eyes close and he jerks his head forward slightly. I don’t see any change but I can defiantly feel something shift in the feel of the room. Gavin opens his eyes and nods calmly at the cylinder. “Its good to go.”

“Alright,” I gulp and wave my hand up. There is a tingling that flows throughout my body, like small exhilarating jolts of energy coursing through me, trapped under my skin, all at my control. I don’t get the chance to enjoy the feeling. The moment I feel the magic leave my fingers there is a large explosion followed by a strong fire that goes on in the cylinder.

The loud noise and bright-unexpected color causes Gavin to practically jump into my arms, clinging for something to just hold on to. He turns to look at me and I see his eyes widen at the realization of what he has done. Quickly he climbs off and regains himself, but his shoulders are still slump with embarrassment.

“Sorry Michael, I shouldn’t have done that, I didn’t think… I just got scared…and I…”

“It’s alright buddy, don’t sweat it,” I try to distance myself, but Gavin just moves closer.

“No it’s not alright, because well, I’ve been think about this for a while but, well, there are a lot of mistakes I make. God knows I do a lot of stupid stuff, but I just wanted to say, that well, I’m sorry. And I still care about you even you don’t care about me,”

I stare. “You still care?”

“Of course I do Micool,”

I stare at him for a second that feels like a year. Hearing him pronounce my name again, the same way he did on the first day of school pushes me over the line. I can’t fucking take Ryan’s bullshit anymore. I quickly scan the library for other people, specifically Ryan, but find it empty and turn back to Gavin.

“Thank fucking Christ,” is the last thing I whisper before I closed the gap between us and kiss him with a longing that has been pooled in my head, heart and stomach for way to long. He melts into me and we stay like that for a while, enjoying the taste of the other. I know we can’t do this for long. Unwillingly I pull away and cup Gavin’s head in my hands and look straight into his eyes. I need to warn him about everything that’s going on.

“Gavin I have to say this now, and I want you to know I mean every word. I love you. Goddamn I love you, you stupid piece of shit. But something could happen to you if anybody other than me knew that right now. So you have to keep this quiet until I say it’s okay, okay?” He nods at me and I ease up a little. “I’ll explain everything later, but for right now you need to stay here. There are some things that I need to work out but I’ll be back. Can you do that?” He nods at me again.

“Okay good,” I pick up my bag. Before I can start walking away Gavin grabs my arm.

“Where are you going?”

I sigh. “There has been a lot of shit going on for a long time. I need to tell somebody, somebody who has more power than us, somebody who might be able to actually fix this shit storm. I need to find Geoff and Jack.”

*

I rush through the halls looking for Geoff, Jack or just anybody who might have seen them. I look down at my watch. Gav’s been in the library for almost half an hour because I can’t find our god damn teachers. I finally see Ray walking down the hall.

“Ray,” I gasped, out of breath from running around the school. “Have you seen Geoff or Jack? I checked their offices and even their houses but I can’t find them anywhere. Please its urgent,”

“No, sorry. Haven’t seen them at all.”

“ARGH,” I try and calm down. “Do you at least know somebody else who might know where they are?”

“No, the schools been pretty bare. The only people I’ve actually seen recently were Ryan and Gavin together.”

I freeze. “What?”

“Yeah, who knows where the fuck they were going.”

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!” I bring my hands to my hair. I feel my stomach drop.

“Whoa, what’s going on? Are you alright?”

“Ahh no, not really. Look I’m gonna sound fucking crazy, but Ryan’s lost his mind. Literally. Its not just jokes and dicking around anymore. He threatened me, he said he was going to hurt Gavin if I did anything wrong, and well, I fucked up I guess. And now he’s got him.”

Ray looked serious for a second, but burst out laughing. “Nice one Michael, 10/10, quite convincing.” My expression didn’t change.

Ray’s laughter fell away. “You’re not actually serious, are you?”

“Yeah I’m pretty FUCKING SERIOUS RAY!”

“Okay, okay! You know I want to help; it would kill me to see Gavin hurt too. What can I do?”

I think about it for a second. “Try and find Geoff and Jack. Or even Burnie, I don’t know just somebody who can help. I’m going to go find Ryan and Gavin. I’m the only one who might know where they are.”

“Michael, if Ryan is as crazy as he’s been acting, well then you shouldn’t go alone. And even if you do get to them how will we find you?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll give some sort of sign or something to tell you guys where I am.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,”

“Okay, good luck,” he gives me a faint smile and puts his hand on my shoulder. I return the smile and start to turn away.

“Wait, what should I tell them?” he asks.

“Tell them that there are planned attacks on students and the school.”

Ray nods one last time before we part. I start walking, this time with a greater purpose. I go down the steps and burst through the schools back doors, towards the forest. My feet crunch against the gravely path. Memories flood my mind, mostly of Gavin and I’s first kiss, but I have to push those away and remember one thing in particular. The path Ryan took me on. I have to find Edgar’s hole.

*

It doesn’t take to long, but when I find it I have to suppress every urge to strangle Ryan.

He is sitting on a large throne wearing a broken crown. At his feet is the hole with the trapped cow, and sitting next to him on a small stool is Gavin.

I approach them, my back and shoulders tense with anger. “You asshole,” I whisper. “Let him go.”

The creepy grin was plastered on Ryan’s Face yet again. “Oh Michael, why would I do that?”

“I’m sorry, Michael,” Gavin interjected, “He said he was going to hurt you and I-,”

“Shut up,” hissed Ryan.

“I’ve told you once already. Let him go. This is just between you and me. Leave him fucking out of it.”

“Ahh, you see that’s where you’re wrong. Because to get you involved I _needed_ to get him involved,” Ryan jerked his thumb at Gavin. “And as far as letting him go, well, that’s not going to happen either.”

“Come on Ryan, this isn’t you. This isn’t the Ryan I became friends with at the beginning of the year.” I could feel myself pleading. “Don’t do this,”

Ryan turned cold. “I wouldn’t have to do this, but I kept up my end of the promise, and you didn’t. Don’t you think that should have some repercussions?”

With that, Ryan ruthlessly grabbed Gavin’s arm, yanked him up from his stool and swiftly broke it in half.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay a chapter that is decent length! Enjoy, and thanks for the kind words and such so far.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been an absolute wonderful journey to take with all of you guys, I've loved it so much! Thank you for making my first real experience on this website a good one!

The dull crack that follows echoes on the trees surrounding us, but holds nothing in comparison to Gavin’s shriek, which rips through the forest.

Ryan throws Gavin to the ground, while he is whimpering in pain and holding his unnaturally bent arm in his other hand.

I don’t think. I don’t even talk. Instead I feel my power surge within me, flowing through my body as I scream in anguish, throwing as much as I can of my magic at once towards Ryan. Fire like vines shoots from my hands heading straight for him. Ryan reacts quickly, sending a small but powerful blast of air into the side of my magic causing it dramatically veer to left, roaring up with the extra oxygen and the dry wood of the tree that it caught. He swiftly retaliates with a move I don’t even see. It hits me straight in the chest sending me flying backwards. The pain is accompanied by a lack of oxygen and a copper taste in my mouth, which I can’t tell if is my blood or Ryan’s magic.

I land on my back and try and take a breath. I look up and see Ryan has moved closer to me, but he stops before he is at my feet.

“Get up,” he commands.

I don’t move. I hear the cracks of fire hit the eerie silence and smell the smoke of the spreading fire.

“I SAID GET UP,”

Slowly I get up on my feet, making sure my eyes never leave Ryan.

“What are you doing?” I question him.

“I think you at least deserve an even fight, even if you are a liar,”

I brush myself off as I stand up to face Ryan.

“That’s better,” he says. His eyes quickly run over me. “Ready?”

Before I get a chance to agree Ryan makes his first move.

I feel everything coming at me like its in slow motion. It reminds me of being a kid again, the same feeling of jumping off a swing and knowing that you aren’t going to land right, flying through the air knowing that there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

This blow hits me harder, and it hits me everywhere. The copper taste is now too strong to be anything but blood. Breath no longer comes as I fly through the air and hit the ground. The gravel roughly brushes my skin as I slid across the ground making it raw. Blood drips down my nose and my vision blurs for a second before I blink and refocus. By that time Ryan is standing by my feet and I try to recoil as far away from his as I can.

He chuckled to himself. “I guess _that_ wasn’t very fair was it? Oh well,”

Ryan raises his hand towards my body, about to deliver his final blow. Suddenly he goes flying to my right, hitting one of the few trees left untouched by flames. I see his head hit the bark and he soon has a bloody nose to match my own.

Gavin is standing not to far behind Ryan, his good arm still up in the air and his broken one pressed into his side. That doesn’t last long. It must have taken a lot of power from Gavin because his arm lowers and his eyes flutter closed with exhaustion. His legs give way and the rest of his body starts falling to the ground like a sack of bricks. I rush to my feet and to him as his limp body hits the ground. I reach him and collapse on the ground next to him, wrapping my arms around his frame.

“C’mon Gavin,” I check his pulse. It’s faint but I feel it’s steady beat.

There is a faint laughter coming from where Ryan is. Turning to look I see him staring at us.

“Unbelievable,” he looks down and wipes his hand across his bloody nose, glancing at the smeared blood on his hand and grinning.

“That really was a good try,” he pushes himself up from the ground and stalks toward us. “But not good enough. It bought you some time, but really, looking at the situation you’re in now, how helpful was that? Goodbye, Michael. Say hello to Gavin for me,”

“I don’t think so, Motherfucker,”

Both our heads snap around to look at Geoff standing 25 feet away from us with Jack and Ray at his side.

“Ryan, it’s about time you calmed down,” Jack warned.

Geoff looked at Jack. “Really dude, Ryan is threating to kill people and that’s what you have to say?”

“What, what’s wrong with that?”

“Hey um guys,” Ray interrupts, “kind of in the middle of something you might want to save your married couple bickering for later!”

Ryan and I just stare dumbfounded at them. That is, until Ryan regains himself. He throws some of his magic at Geoff, who blocks it with years of experience.

“Come on guys help me out here a little. He is pretty powerful and I can’t take him out by myself,”

“YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME. NOT AFTER THIS LONG!” I can feel Ryan collect all of his magic and push it towards the trio. Geoff and Jack are just barley able to block it from causing any serious damage as they create a force field around themselves and Ray, everything around them being destroyed.

“I’m sorry we got to do this buddy,” Geoff tells him.

All three of them raise they’re hands towards Ryan, and release large amounts of magic. It hits Ryan, but it’s different. He doesn’t go flying backwards, but instead falls to the ground similar to how Gavin did. Gavin.

I focus my attention back to him. His eyes are still closed but he is breathing.

Before I know it Ray is at my side.

“How were you guys able to find us,” I ask, “I never had the chance to actually give you guys a signal,”

“You set the fucking forest on fire,”

Oh shit. I look up to see the damage and see Geoff putting it out. I look over to Ryan and Jack is next to him, lifting him off the ground and onto his shoulder. He walks over to us and looks down at Gavin and I.

“We should get going. They both need to get to the hospital, and in Ryan’s case maybe a mental asylum,”

I nod and lift Gavin. I start to feel my knees buckle and Ray must notice.

“You need any help there?”

I shake my head. “No, I’m good, I got him. Lets just go,”

 

*

 

Ryan is taken somewhere where he can be safely locked up until the therapist can talk to him. As for Gavin, he is sitting in the school hospital bed still unconscious. Geoff and I are sitting at the food of his bed.  
“I should have known this would fucking happen,” Geoff sighs.

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, this wasn’t Ryan’s first year,”

I turn my head to look at Geoff. “What?”

“Ryan was here last year too. He started getting into a bunch of shit, didn’t show up for classes, didn’t hand anything in, so we failed him. He seemed to get really upset. He and his parents said they didn’t want to tell anybody about it. Nobody knew him so coming this year was easy,” He shrugs. “I guess he was a lot more angry about it than we thought,”

I look down at my hand in Gavin’s. The nurse told me that I should leave it alone, but I politely told her to fuck off.

“God, I want to kill Ryan. But I know he can get un-fucked. I just wish he never got fucked in the first place,”

“I know what you mean,” there is a small pause. “Anyway, I have to go send letters to teachers and parents and stuff. I’ll leave you two alone,”

I sit and wait by Gavin for hours. After a while a feel my own eyes drop shut. I don’t know how many hours pass. I wake up and see Gavin looking up. I quickly sit up and ignore the sleepy state and tense muscles from sleeping in a chair to take Gavin’s hand again. I smile at him.

“About fucking time, asshole. I was starting to get worried that you might actually be hurt,”

He smiles back at me. “Nothing can hurt me, Michael. I’m practically invincible with you around,”

“Yeah, you keep thinking that and both of us will be in a mound of shit,”

I reach over and give him a hug, careful to avoid his arm.

“You better enjoy that because you’re not getting another one until your arm is healed,”

Gavin makes the same exaggerated frown and flares out his nostrils at me.

I stare at him a little longer before I place my hand on the bed and stand up.

“Where the bloody hell are you going?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back. While you were asleep I realized there is something I still I need to do. I’ll see you soon, get some rest,”

I smile at him one last time before leaving.

 

*

 

There is dirt in my nails as I stand above my work. I didn’t use any magic; I wanted to do it right. I drop my shovel and wipe my forehead. I look at the small hole with the staircase leading to the surface and the cow staring at it. Now he can leave, whenever he wants. My work here is done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter didn't come out on the promised date in your time zone, but none the matter I hoped you enjoyed it anyway! You can follow me on tumblr (I'm not sure how to make links so my url is ostrich-queen) and I am always taking promts for roosterteeth (any ship). I hoped you guys enjoy!


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